Advanced ceramic materials such as carbides, nitrides, borides and silicides have very high melting points and are relatively chemically inert. These characteristics impose difficulties in the formation of compact final shapes and their preparation requires high temperatures and pressures. Use of sintering aids, typically oxides, is limited since these usually contaminate the final product and degrade the mechanical and chemical characteristics of the final form.
The use of polymeric compounds as precursors for formation of ceramics is a generalized procedure that has the potential of affording control over the composition and morphology of a variety of advanced ceramic materials. Previously silicon carbide fibers have been made by heat treatment of a polycarbosilane polymeric precursor. Also, boron nitride has been made using polymeric materials containing boron and nitrogen such as aminoboranes and borazines. However, there is a continuing need to find new polymers to use not only as precursors but also as low-loss binders for binding powder starting material.